The Breast Cancer Research Foundation’s very first international research grant was awarded in 2001 to Shaare Zedek Medical Center’s Dr. Ephrat Levy-Lahad to do a comprehensive Israeli Breast Cancer Study, now an international model for genetic breast cancer prevention screening.

Over the past 12 months, ISRAEL21c has reported on exciting news in cancer research from Israeli laboratories. We present 10 of the most promising advances here with our hope that breast cancer may soon be relegated to history.

1. IceSense 3

IceSense freezes out breast tumors.The novel Israeli medical device IceSense3, made by IceCure, is already helping American doctors destroy benign breast lumps by freezing them. In June, a leading Japanese breast surgeon started clinical trials using the minimally invasive, ultrasound-guided procedure to successfully obliterate small cancerous tumors as well. Similar trials will soon begin in the United States.

The cryoablation process takes five or 10 minutes in a doctor’s office, clinic or breast center under local anesthesia. No recovery period or post-care is necessary, and there is no scarring.

2. RUTH

The Israeli company Real Imaging offers a no-radiation, no-contact alternative to mammography pioneered by electro-optical engineer Boaz Arnon and named in memory of his mother, who died of breast cancer in 2004.

RUTH uses a new trademarked platform that enables automatic quantitative analysis of 3D and infrared signals emitted from cancerous and benign breast tissue. Results are interpreted by computer, with unprecedented accuracy in patients of all ages — 90 percent as opposed to 80% for mammography. Thousands of women have been involved in clinical trials for RUTH since 2007. The next step is CE and FDA approval.

3. MarginProbe

Dune Medical, a graduate of the Misgav Venture Accelerator, in June received pre-market approval from the US Food and Drug Administration for MarginProbe, its trademarked system that uses electromagnetic waves to identify possibly cancerous tissue on the edges of a breast tumor in real time. The application was based on data from a 600-patient study conducted primarily in the United States.

MarginProbe is meant to improve on the current rate of 30 percent to 60% of women who must undergo secondary breast cancer surgery after a lumpectomy because the initial surgery failed to get rid of all cancerous tissue at the margins of the tumor.

4. Monoclonal antibodies

Herceptin, a frequently prescribed drug for blocking the chemical signals that stimulate uncontrolled growth of breast cancer cells, is one of an advanced class of pharmaceuticals called monoclonal antibody drugs. Currently, these drugs must be administered together with chemotherapy.

The two-year-old Israeli company Immune Pharmaceuticals is developing a “guided missile” system, licensed from the Hebrew University, which encloses thousands of chemotherapy molecules inside a monoclonal antibody nanoparticle. The drug payload isn’t released until reaching the cancerous tissue.

In addition, Immune is collaborating with the Weizmann Institute to develop antibody therapeutics targeting a growth factor that causes chemotherapy resistance in many patients with breast and ovarian cancer.

5. Better biomarkers

Tel Aviv University PhD student Livnat Jerby won a prestigious 2012 Dan David Scholarship for performing the first genome-scale study of the metabolic progression of breast cancer — an algorithm that can profile the traits of each individual patient’s tumor. These profiles help in studying the underlining mechanisms of the disease, classifying patients according to their prognosis and identifying potential metabolic biomarkers as a non-invasive, cost-effective means for early diagnosis and monitoring treatment efficiency.

“The Holy Grail of our work is to provide the basis for rational drug discovery, aiming to find drugs that — unlike most conventional treatments — will harm only the tumor, and not the healthy cells,” Jerby tells ISRAEL21c. “We had some success with providing a new potential target for treating renal cancer and published those results in Nature. With breast cancer, we can apply the same computational tools to better diagnose and choose the best treatment for the individual patient.”

6. An HIV approach

Two Hebrew University-Hadassah Medical School researchers have patented a protein encoded by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) as a treatment to make radiation and chemotherapy more effective.

This small peptide, dubbed 25-39, inhibits a substance involved in repairing DNA damage from cancer therapy. It’s important to prevent such repair in order to wipe out the cancer cells. Now the search is on for investment partners to further develop and commercialize the product that already proved itself in the lab.

7. The gene that can suppress tumors

It’s long been known that the p53 gene produces a protein that can suppress tumors. In 2012, a team at the Institute for Medical Research Israel-Canada at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem discovered that p53 also governs a mechanism that keeps cancer cells from invading healthy epithelial tissue. Most cancers, including breast cancer, spread through epithelial cells.

Investors are being sought for clinical studies on breast-cancer patients. The long-term goal is to boost the group-control function of p53 to keep tumors from developing the capacity to spread.

8. Immunotherapy

Two therapeutic vaccines against cancer are under development in Israel.

Vaxil BioTherapeutics’ ImMucin, can be tailored to treat 90% of cancers by activating and enhancing the body’s immune system to seek and destroy cancer cells present in the body. The treatment causes no side effects, and can be taken indefinitely, like vitamins. ImMucin could be on the market in about five years.

Vacciguard another Israeli biomed startup, is introducing a technology for developing vaccines against cancer and a wide range of other diseases that currently have no effective treatments. The technology is based on the research of world-renowned Weizmann immunologist Prof. Irun Cohen.

9. Cancer “family trees”

Israeli researchers from the Weizmann Institute and the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology used computational biology to chart a unique “family tree” of cancer stem cells from living patients. The chart will help determine exactly how these cells divide and spread, as well as how they can survive chemotherapy treatments and remain latent in the body only to reappear with a vengeance at a later time.

Preliminary results show that slow-dividing cancer cells are more likely to evade cancer drugs, whereas chemotherapy most commonly targets only rapidly dividing cells. The Israeli research points to a need for devising new treatments targeting slow-dividing cells.

10. Weizmann Breast Cancer Research Program

During 2012, the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation and the US Department of Defense were among overseas organizations awarding postdoctoral fellowships at the Breast Cancer Research Program at Israel’s Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot.

Current projects within this program focus on better diagnosis and treatment options, such as using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in an advanced noninvasive method to detect malignant breast tumors without biopsies; and in evaluating the effectiveness of hormone therapy for breast cancer. Another Weizmann team recently revealed new details about a crucial mechanism that controls the first stage of breast cancer metastasis.

Just read straight through, and you’ll get the point.

1. Name the five wealthiest people in the world.

2. Name the last five Heisman trophy winners.

3. Name the last five winners of the Miss America pageant.

4 Name ten people who have won the Nobel or Pulitzer Prize.

5. Name the last half dozen Academy Award winners for best actor and actress.

6. Name the last decade’s worth of World Series winners.

How did you do?
The point is, none of us remember the headliners of yesterday. These are no second-rate achievers. They are the best in their fields. But the applause dies.. Awards tarnish.. Achievements are forgotten. Accolades and certificates are buried with their owners.

Here’s another quiz. See how you do on this one:

1. List a few teachers who aided your journey through school.

2. Name three friends who have helped you through a difficult time.

3. Name five people who have taught you something worthwhile.

4. Think of a few people who have made you feel appreciated and special.

5. Think of five people you enjoy spending time with.

Easier?

The lesson: The people who make a difference in your life are not the ones with the most credentials, the most money…or the most awards. They simply are the ones who care the most. ‘Don’t worry about the world coming to an end today. It’s already tomorrow in Australia !’

”Be Yourself. Everyone Else Is Taken!”

Emotional confusion results from confused emuna. Emotional weakness is the outcome of weak emuna. This is a rule of thumb for all mental illness.

Allow me to clarify: I’m not referring to such mental handicaps from birth such as autism and Down’s syndrome. These are the result of Divine considerations and soul reincarnations, neither of which we are capable of understanding.

Yet, when we see that a person is born healthy, but at a later age succumbs to fear, anxiety, depression, and even schizophrenia, or any other mental or emotional difficulties, the root of the problem is a blemished emuna. But here’s the good news: if an emotionally-disturbed individual learns all about emuna and prays for emuna, he or she will recover from the ailment. The more a person corrects and strengthens emuna, the more he or she will enjoy mental and emotional health.

Every person – even the so-called “normal” person – suffers from emotional problems to a certain degree. In addition to fear, anxiety, and depression, people are plagued with boredom, lack of satisfaction, anger, worries, nervousness, and extreme mood fluctuations, just to name a few. Emuna cures all these ills.

What are you afraid of?

People are frozen with fear. They fear other people, their bosses, the IRS, terrorists, other motorists – the list is long. Any time they get a muscle spasm, they envision some imminent crippling or terminal disease. All these fears are expressions of a lack of emuna, particularly the lack of emuna that everything Hashem does is for our very best.

A person with emuna doesn’t fear anything, for he knows that he’s in Hashem’s care and that everything Hashem does is for the very best. This saves tons of emotional wear and tear; since Hashem does everything for the best, then there’s nothing to worry about.

A person than devotes an hour a day to self-evaluation, teshuva, and personal prayer especially has nothing to worry about. If a person is making his best effort at self-improvement, then why should Hashem punish him? Such a person doesn’t need wake-up calls, because he’s daily arousing himself to teshuva and to self-improvement. The result of an hour a day in personal prayer is increased happiness and decreased stress and worry.

Be happy!

Stringencies in religious observance are madness; therefore, no one should be too exacting with himself. Don’t worry about whether your performance of a mitzvah is perfect or not, just do what you can with innocence and with simplicity of thought and intent. Remember that the Torah wasn’t given to angels, but to human beings with human limitations.

Those who demand angelic deportment from themselves are therefore candidates for frustration, gloom, and disappointment that results from the arrogant feeling that they should be doing everything perfectly. A person connected to the truth is happy serving Hashem the best way he or she can, without going into hair-splitting stringencies.

Belief in our wise men

Rebbe Nachman of Breslev teaches (See Rebbe Nachman’s Discourses, 67) that, “Ignoring the wise can cause insanity. A person acts insane only because he ignores the advice of others. If he would take rational advice, he could act normal. His mental state might rationalize his need to do such things as tearing his clothing and rolling in the garbage. But a wiser man than he tells him not to do these things. If he would only subjugate his will to the wise, his actions would become completely rational. Insane behavior therefore results only from ignoring the wise. Understand this well.”

The above teaching obligates any rational personal to heed the words of the wise, especially of our renowned spiritual leaders. Belief in their words together with emuna in Hashem is the key to mental health. The Torah praises the children of Israel during their flight from bondage in Egypt when it says (Exodus 14:31), “And they believed in Hashem and in His servant Moses.”

Torah study

Rebbe Nachman of Breslev, probably the greatest doctor of the soul that ever lived, also teaches (see Abridged Likutei Moharan, I:1) that “by learning Torah, one is saved from madness.”

The Yetzer Hara, the evil inclination, wants to drive a person crazy. Our sages teach us that a person doesn’t sin unless the spirit of insanity enters his brain. As the evil inclination (EI) wants a person to sin, he injects that person with a dose of insanity. The EI has all kinds of ploys to trap a person, and uses a number of different temptations and confusions to twist one’s better judgment. The only way to guard against these pitfalls is by strengthening Torah learning and strengthening emuna.

Thoughts

“Evil thoughts and contemplations of lust make people crazy” (Likutei Moharan I:60). There is a very strong correlation between personal holiness and mental health. The opposite is also sad and true, that the more a person succumbs to lust and lewd thoughts, the less sane he becomes. People notoriously do insane things to fulfill their lusts, whether it be squandering hard-earned money, risking the wrath of the irate husband of the woman they covet, or breaking up their own home and ruining their own lives as well as the lives of their wife and children. Pornography adds to this insanity.

Therefore, guarding one’s eyes and mind from lewd and forbidden input is just as important as guarding one’s mouth from swallowing poison. In fact, it’s easier to poison the mind that it is to poison the body.

Torah learning, learning about emuna, sincere teshuva in the area of personal holiness, extensive personal prayer, and guarding one’s eyes especially from impure books, movies, magazines, and websites are conducive to escaping the pitfalls of the type of evil thoughts and contemplations of last that make a normal person insane.

A person should pray for happiness. Happiness and good mental health go hand in hand. True happiness comes from enhanced emuna.

A blind trust in doctors and medicine is itself a form of idolatry. Many people are afraid to sever their dependence on doctors and medicines, as if their lives were dependant on the man with the stethoscope around his neck. Therefore, one should fear Hashem only and not the doctors or their admonitions.

Psalms

Psalms have enormous power, tantamount to an intravenous infusion of trust in Hashem. Trust in Hashem is very conducive to a person’s full and speedy recovery. There are dozens of stories about people who merited miraculous recoveries from reciting Psalms.A little boy’s best friend become very ill and the doctors appeared to have given up hope.

He picked up his book of Psalms, and with poignant innocence said Psalms for an entire hour in his friend’s behalf. He closed the book, ran to his friend’s house, and asked if there was any improvement. His friend’s mother tearfully shook her head in the negative. The little boy ran home and said Psalms for another hour. Once again, he ran to his friend’s house and asked if there was any change in the situation. Once again, the answer was no. The little boy ran back and forth for most of the night, when his friend’s parents finally informed him that their son’s fever had broken and that he was sleeping peacefully now…

Names of the Tzaddikim

Rebbe Nachman of Breslev writes in Sefer HaMiddot that reciting the names of the tzaddikim can bring about a change in nature.

A woman came to me after a growth was detected on her uterus, and said that the doctors were demanding to perform an immediate operation that would render her unable to give birth to any more children. She took my advice and recited the names of the tzaddikim. A short while later the growth disappeared and the woman received a clean bill of health. Since then, she has given birth to more children as well.

Likutei Tefillot

A man suffered from severe back pains to the extent that he couldn’t lift the slightest weight. He asked one of this generation’s tzaddikim what to do. The tzaddik told him to recite all the prayers for healing in Rebbe Nathan of Breslov’s classic collection of prayers, “Likutei Tefillot.” He implemented the tzaddik’s advice to the letter. Within a relatively short period, his back was completely cured.

Everything will turn around for the best

Never forget that Hashem is G-d. Any Divine decree can be overturned with prayer, teshuva, and charity. Our sages teach us that even if a sharp sword rests on a person’s neck, the person shouldn’t give up hope. “Hope” means prayer, and the most cogent prayer is the sick person’s prayer for himself (see Rashi’s elaboration of Genesis 21:17).

Even though doing a Pidyon Nefesh and reciting the names of the tzaddikim are important, nothing so invokes Divine compassion for a sick person as his own personal prayer – speaking to Hashem in his own words. A person should ask for all his needs from Hashem, and especially for healing and good health. King David said (Psalm 30:3), “I cried out to You, Hashem, my G-d, and You healed me.”

One of my students was in a near-fatal automobile accident that left a gaping hole in his back that exposed his spine. The gap almost reached his kidneys. The wound became infected and the doctors had given up hope. My student was conscious and well aware of his critical situation. There was no rational procedure or cure. Up until the accident, my student would devote a few casual minutes to personal prayer, but nothing more. Now, I asked him to commit to speaking to Hashem for two hours a day – he agreed.

Every night when most everyone else was sleeping, he’d wheel himself out in a wheelchair to the hospital terrace. For hours on end, he’d beg Hashem to stimulate new tissue growth around his kidneys and spine. Little by little, to the amazement of all the doctors, new tissue began to grow until the gap was completely healed.

The Lachovitcher Rebbe used to say that when the doctors tell a patient that there’s no cure, and the patient reinforces himself with complete trust in Hashem, then all the gates of salvation and healing are opened…

A sick person shouldn’t wait for the doctors or sickness to turn to Hashem. Putting one’s complete trust in Hashem not only facilitates healing, but helps to keep healthy people healthy.

Don’t waste a moment!

As with incarceration, a sick person should utilize available time for self-evaluation and for soul searching. Many patients lie idle in hospital beds for hours; freed from the demands of a normally busy routine, the bedridden should take advantage of the time at their disposal. Oftentimes, a sick person’s bodily urges diminish dramatically, enabling one to look at the world objectively. At such times, the soul’s delicate voice gets a fair hearing. Many healthy people let their bellowing bodies drown out the soul’s voice.

How tragic when “loved ones” arrange for a television to be planted in front of a sick person’s face! Instead of utilizing their available time for the type of soul-searching that would lead to a full recovery, they waste it on folly.

Hashem receives tremendous gratification when a person passes the test of faith that accompanies affliction. Reinforcement of faith is a wonderful way to insure good health and a complete recovery of body, mind, and soul.

People of Compassion

Anyone in the medical field must know that he or she performs a lofty task in the world. Usually, those who choose a career in medicine are people of compassion. The characteristics of mercy and compassion combined with the desire to aid humanity are wonderful incentives for learning medicine.

Nevertheless, physicians must avoid the pitfall of arrogance and remember that they are only messengers of healing, for Hashem alone decides who will live and who will die. Hashem also decides how much a person will suffer and whether he or she will be cured or not.

A physician must pray daily before he begins his day’s work that Hashem will help him be a worthy emissary. His prayers should also include a special request that he merit being an agent of healing, and not an agent of death, Heaven forbid, for a doctor’s slightest mistake or misjudgment can have tragic or even fatal results. Therefore, medical professionals should always plead to Hashem for Divine assistance in everything they do. They should also ask for patience, understanding, and a sensitivity of their patients.

There is no despair!

Our sages said that physicians are granted a Divine license to heal. That doesn’t give them license to discourage or dishearten patients. In many cases, doctors give patients and the families members of patients a pessimistic outlook and a feeling of hopelessness. Telling a patient that he only has so much time to live is a terrible mistake.

Medical research shows that optimism and a happy attitude play an important role in healing, recovery, and resistance to disease. Such nuances as laughter therapy have reportedly helped cure a number of ailments. No wonder that Rebbe Nachman of Breslev stressed the importance of maintaining happiness and avoiding sadness and depression at all costs. Rebbe Nachman emphasizes that sickness and disease are the result of a breakdown in happiness (see Likutei Moharan II:24). Since emuna leads to happiness, emuna facilitates recovery from sickness and ailments.

Therefore, a doctor must avoid saddening or discouraging a patient. Indeed, one of his most important tasks is encouraging a patient. A doctor’s word of encouragement carries far more weight than a layman’s word. A doctor should also use his good influence to help reinforce his patient’s emuna. Such spiritual and emotional support is inestimably beneficial to every patient.

The prognosis

The claim that a doctor must give patients truthful assessments of their situation is a fallacy. A patient shouldn’t be robbed of his hopes to recover. And, even if the sick person is destined to die, he should still be surrounded with optimism and encouragement.

Those doctors who frighten and discourage patients, especially those doctors who forecast how long an apparent terminally-ill patient has to live, are actually robbing them of any chance for recovery.

Hashem doesn’t reveal the day of one’s death, for such knowledge could have a detrimental effect on a person. If Hashem hides the day of death, how can a mortal be presumptuous enough to think he knows it? Negative prognoses are sometimes completely inaccurate.

Even in apparently terminal cases, a gloomy forecast robs the patient of his right to die with a feeling of optimism and faith in his heart. The doom prognosis leads to a bitter death accompanied by feelings of despair, bewilderment, and even anger at Hashem, Heaven forbid. When doctors say that the end is near, they deny patients their lone lifeline – emuna – by sealing their fate.

Stop and think for a moment: who says that the patient’s condition won’t make a sudden or dramatic change for the better? We’ve all heard of clinically-dead people that have come back to life! Are the doctors G-d, that they know what has been decreed on each patient? Hashem can change anything in the world from one moment to the next. Therefore, a sick person can recover in spite of all the doctors’ negative predictions.

A patient’s tiniest commitment to teshuva, to self-improvement, or to a mitzvah such as giving money to charity can lead to recovery where natural methods have failed.

In all fairness to the doctors, sometimes the patient’s family members put tremendous pressure on them, demanding to be told the “truth”. In such situations, a doctor should be cautious and say that according to natural circumstances, the situation seems critical, but experience has proven that Hashem’s intervention can alter the picture from one moment to the next and override any natural laws.

The best advice

A physician with emuna knows that a patient’s condition can change from one moment to the next. It’s enough that the family gives the patient’s name to a tzaddik, and the tzaddik starts praying for the patient or performs a pidyon nefesh for the patient. The opposite is also true: a patient can feel better and then renege on a commitment or fall from emuna and then suddenly relapse.

Either way, a physician should avoid giving gloomy forecasts: if Hashem decides to revive the patient, then the physician will lose face. On the other hand, if the physician is accurate, what does anyone gain? By scaring the patient – even truthfully – the physician is guilty of Onaat devarim, the Torah transgression of causing anguish to another human being. The “truth” could have made the patient suffer even more by losing hope and falling into despair.

The best advice for physicians is therefore to avoid saying anything of a committal nature, even if the patient’s family applies tons of pressure. There are plenty of verbal escape routes, such as “it’s too early to tell” or “we don’t have enough information to make an accurate prognosis.”

There are situations when a doctor wants to force his opinion on the patient in regards to a certain treatment, medicine, or operation. This is also a mistake. Even if the doctor is convinced that his recommendations are accurate, the patient must not be deprived of his free choice. Even though the doctor undoubtedly wants to help the patient, he shouldn’t dramatize his own opinions by pressuring the patient.

In summary, only Hashem decides the fate of each patient. The doctor’s task is to be a worthy emissary of Divine Will and Providence, and pray that he’ll be fortunate enough to be an agent of healing and not of death.

A physician should therefore tell a patient, “I’ll do my best, but you should know that your health doesn’t depend on me; that’s why you should do your part – strengthen your emuna in trust in Hashem! No matter what the outcomes of tests are, there are many surprises in medicine and Hashem can override any natural circumstance, as difficult as it may seem. I pray that Hashem should give me the best advice in regards to your case, but you can contribute so much to your own recovery with prayer, charity, teshuva, and emuna. If we work together, hopefully Hashem will grant you a full and speedy recovery.”

The Gemorra teaches (tractate Avoda Zara 55a), that “immediately before disease and suffering are cast upon a person, they are sworn to leave on a certain day, at a certain hour, by a certain person and by a certain medicinal agent.” Rebbe Nachman of Breslev teaches (Likutei Moharan II:3) that all the above conditions must be met for a sick person to be cured. If so, how can a physician cure anyone? A doctor cannot possibly cure a person unless he or she is the designated Heavenly messenger with the proper cure at the proper time. Even more so, how does a sick person seek a doctor’s help if he or she doesn’t know if that particular doctor happens to be the designated messenger? As such, going to doctors is lighting betting on horses – maybe you’ll win and maybe you won’t.

Pidyon Nefesh: Redemption of the Soul

Nevertheless, a person can do something about the Heavenly edict that limits curing to “a certain day, at a certain hour, by a certain person and by a certain medicinal agent.” Once the edict is rescinded, then any doctor with any standard treatment can affect a cure.

There are three steps to rescinding a Heavenly edict – teshuva, asking tzaddikim to pray for the sick person, and a pidyon nefesh as Rebbe Nachman of Breslev writes (ibid.):

“When a person makes a pidyon severe judgments are mitigated, and the Heavenly edict is rescinded. Then, a doctor can cure by way of his medicines, for there are no longer stern judgments and a person no longer needs the specified doctor at the specified time with the specified medicine. As such, no doctor can really cure unless a person does a pidyon, for a pidyon is necessary to mitigate harsh judgments, and then the doctor receives license to cure.”

Consequently, when a person gives money to tzaddikim for a pidyon nefesh, then his efforts in seeking a doctor’s assistance will be worthwhile. Preferably, one should give the pidyon to an upright rabbi who knows the proper text of the pidyon nefesh, such as the Breslever rabbis. One should not be stingy, as Rebbe Natan writes in Likutei Tefillot, 123: “Please have mercy so the person bringing the pidyon won’t be stingy, and will give what’s required to mitigate the severe judgments.”

Pidyon nefesh is extremely effective. We have witnessed first-hand dozens of outright miracles, when a pidyon nefesh had virtually redeemed the giver’s soul, having been saved from grave danger or from severe sickness.

A sick person asked me if he should do to the doctor. I asked him why he’s running to the doctor so quickly. “Did the doctor make you sick? Hashem made you sick, so first you must ask Hashem why you’re sick, do proper soul-searching, and make teshuva accordingly.”

Medicine and medical procedures can be effective only after a person makes the proper effort to mitigate severe judgments against him or her, and to appeal to Hashem, the physician of all flesh, for a cure. Going to the doctor without prior spiritual effort shows a lack of emuna.

A doctor cannot add to or detract from a person’s allotment of longevity. Therefore, one is best advised to invest one’s efforts in seeking good health from He who grants life – Hashem!

Thank God and be cured

Emuna, more than anything else, is conducive to healing. Therefore, the first thing a sick person should do is to thank Hashem for the sickness. This of course sounds extremely odd to Western ears, but in fact, nothing could be more logical. Here’s why:

Hashem made the ailing person sick for his own benefit and ultimate welfare. Awareness of this basic fact of emuna enables the sick person to thank Hashem. The person’s positive attitude makes recovery much faster and easier. Thanking Hashem for an apparent calamity such as sickness is the highest expression of emuna, since the person recognizes that even his tribulations are from Hashem and part of Hashem’s personal and magnificent Divine Providence that’s all for the best.

One of the new students in our Yeshiva suffered for years from a severe chronic illness. No doctors or treatments helped, and not even his own prayers and efforts to rectify his sins, until he heard an emuna lesson that everything is for the best and that a person should thank Hashem even for his deficiencies and hardships in life.

The same student decided to devote his entire daily hour of personal prayer to thanking Hashem. For days on end, he’d thank Hashem for making him sick and for all the accompanying pain and suffering. He pondered how Hashem certainly does everything for the best and consoled himself that his pain from the illness was atonement for his sins. He realized that Hashem, like a loving father, was personally cleansing his soul. With tears in his ears – tears of joy – the student thanked Hashem profusely and sincerely for his poor health. He didn’t even ask for a cure. Within two weeks, the illness had disappeared entirely, without the aid of treatment or medications. The chronic illness that plagued him for years was now a thing of the past, all because of thanking Hashem. Gratitude to Hashem is the apex of emuna and conducive to good health. The opposite is also true, for a lack of emuna is often a root cause of disease. The strengthening of emuna therefore contributes to good health.

In reality, a person does not suffer unless his or her emuna is taken away. As long as a person clings to the belief that everything Hashem does is for the very best, he or she doesn’t feel any tribulations. Therefore, by reinforcing our emuna that everything Hashem does is for our ultimate good and we thank Him for it, we mitigate severe judgments. A sick person should consequently pray to Hashem for emuna that everything is for the best and that he’ll be able to sincerely thank Hashem for everything. Once he starts thanking Hashem, life makes a dramatic turn for the better.

Pidyon nefesh literally means “redemption of the soul.” In effect it is a sum of money equivalent to the numerical value of a person’s name that serves to mitigate severe judgments against that person. For example, if the sick person’s name is “Ari”, spelled in Hebrew aleph-resh-yud, then the numerical equivalent would be 211 (aleph=1+resh=200+yud=10). Spiritually, $211 would be the proper “pidyon” or redemption for Ari. He would give this money to a tzaddik that knows how to do a pidyon properly, and the tzaddik would use this money for charity.

Sickness is directly rooted in a person’s misdeeds. Consequently, medicine and medical professionals – as advanced and as skillful as they might be – cannot possibly take into consideration such Divine considerations as the patient’s spiritual debits and merits, his efforts to atone and improve, and so forth. No professional – as talented as he or she may be – can override a Divine decree. If Hashem decrees that a person should be sick for a week, then no treatment in the world will help him get well any faster. The opposite holds true as well – if Hashem decrees that a person shall recuperate – despite all medical logic – then that person will get well immediately.

Imagine two identical twins that grew up together in the same home with the same parents, ate the same food, and so on. Maybe when they were small, they appeared to be equally healthy. But, as they grew older, each had his own separate health problems. This is proof that one’s health is not determined by nature, but by one’s actions. If nature were the determining factor, then both twins who were born and raised in identical circumstances should have had identical health profiles.

Miracles and Wonders

The principle that nature plays no role in human healing becomes even more apparent when we see that as soon as a person corrects the spiritual cause of his or her ailment, the ailment disappears without any natural intervention at all. If nature governed healing, then the sick person should have continued to suffer despite whatever efforts at teshuva that he or she made. And, in the cases where seemingly irreversible damage had been caused, nothing should have helped!

Since nature does not dictate health, and we see with our own eyes that people who have earnestly repented have miraculously recovered even from terminal ailments, we can conclude that health and healing defy natural laws

I have witnessed this principle in action countless times. In hundreds of cases where I instructed sick people how to rectify the misdeeds that led to the sickness, they were blessed with dramatic improvements in their health as soon as they did teshuva and bettered their ways. Even in my own personal experience, I’ve saw how my own health problems were solved as soon as I realized what I was supposed to rectify.

I’ll share with you one of my own personal experience. Once on Shabbat, I suffered from a massive toothache. My entire jaw was swollen and infected – the pain was excruciating. I told my family that I must do an immediate root treatment.

My family was astonished. “Since when is one allowed to go to the dentist on Shabbat?”

“But I must do a root treatment,” I answered. “The pain is unbearable and it’s no mitzvah to suffer on Shabbat. I’m going to the greatest of physicians for a root treatment – to Hashem, blessed be His Name.”

I went to a nearby field and asked Hashem to enlighten me as to the spiritual root of my ailments, in other words, to show me what I did wrong to deserve the toothache, the infection, and the resulting swelling. I did some serious soul-searching until I laid a finger on something I shouldn’t have done. I asked forgiveness for this misdeed and made complete teshuva the best I could. Within a few minutes, the swelling went down and the pain disappeared, with no antibiotics or any other natural explanation. I realized that the toothache was only a wake-up call, and as soon as I rectified my actions, Hashem no longer needed the wake-up call.

There is no nature!

Our encouragement to the sick is don’t despair – there is no nature! Whoever chooses the option of teshuva and prayer will see major miracles, beyond the limitations of nature. When The Creator decides to cure someone, He doesn’t need any help.

Rebbe Nachman of Breslev teaches (Likutei Moharan I:62), “The principle misconception of those who are far away from emuna in Hashem is that they visibly see a world governed by the stars. Each person has his own misconception: some think the world is governed by nature, and that the world behaves according to natural law. Others believe that there is a Creator, but that they must worship an intermediary, such as the mistake of the golden calf.

“Many are ensnared in the trap of the intermediary, in other words, they believe in Hashem but they also believe that the intermediary determines their fate, such as their business or livelihood. They then invest their hopes and main efforts to their business dealings, since they believe that their business dealings determine their livelihood, and without their business dealings, Hashem won’t be able to provide for them, G-d forbid. The same goes for medical matters, when they put their faith in the intermediary rather than in Hashem, as if, G-d forbid, Hashem won’t be able to cure them without doctors and medicines.

This is not so! Hashem is the cause of all causes and the reason of all reasons. One must believe in Hashem only, and not in any intermediary or other cause.”

Even though health defies nature, the Torah commands us to make every effort to care for our health. This includes proper diet, exercise, and avoiding substance intake such as tobacco and alcohol. Jewish religious law’s health statutes may be found in the Rambam, Hilchot Deot.

“Root treatment” is the Israeli way of saying “root canal” treatment. The author meant it as a play on words, allud

Medical research appears to be straightforward and logical. The Almighty instilled us with the intelligence to observe, investigate, and solve problems for the betterment of mankind. Not only that, but it’s our duty to devote our mental resources to worthwhile endeavors, particularly for the benefit of society. Electricity, computer technology, and labor-saving appliances are a few examples. Man should therefore invest his God-given power of intelligence to cure illness and relieve human suffering.

Our sages reinforce this outlook and interpret the passage (Exodus 21:19), “And he shall provide a cure,” as a Divine license to heal people. In fact, a number of Judaism’s greatest rabbis were extremely knowledgeable in medicine, such as Maimonides and the Baal Shem Tov.

Apparent logic therefore tells us that medicine is an applied science just like all the other applied sciences, and the more we devote to medical research, the more we’ll overcome illness and suffering.

Man and Divine Providence

Medicine would be a simple, straightforward applied science if its sole challenge were healing a physical body. But, that’s not the case. The body is lifeless without its spiritual life-spark, the soul. Physical treatments and medication can’t cure an ailing soul. Since body and soul are connected, then their mutual health and wellbeing depends on more than nature and natural law. Human health depends on Divine Providence, Hashem’s personal intervention in our lives.

Since all of creation was designed as an agent to facilitate man’s free choice on earth, we can understand how man benefits from the Almighty’s personal attention to the tiniest detail of his life in general and his health in particular.

Nature operates according to Divine will, even though it’s not always apparent. The further away a creation is from man and the less it directly affects his life, then the less apparent the Divine Providence. Therefore, it seems that the stars and the great galaxies go their merry way in their clear and predefined celestial lanes, according to the dictates of nature and seemingly devoid of Divine intervention. This is only an illusion, since the galaxies don’t appear to have anything to do with our daily lives. In truth, their orbits in space are the product of Divine decree; they simply have a static task that doesn’t change.

As opposed to the stars and other faraway creations, dynamic daily change is an indication of Divine Providence. Look how our lives change so drastically from day to day: one day, we’re challenged with income problems. The next day, our children act up. Then, a health crisis pops up. No day is ever the same, for Hashem is constantly sending each individual the messages that he or she needs to stimulate soul correction.

His body is dear to him

Divine Providence plays a greater role in a person’s health than in any other area of a person’s life. Pains and afflictions of the body and soul are Hashem’s prime tools in arousing people to correct what they need to correct, for several reasons:

First, a person might remain apathetic about a variety of other trials and tribulations. He or she won’t necessarily undertake serious introspection after losing a hundred dollars. Yet, few are able to ignore something that directly affects their own bodies, such as sickness or severe negative emotions. This is what happened to Job. At first, Hashem gave the Satan license to test and torment Job, but not to strike him down with illness.

Even though Job lost his money and buried his own children, he didn’t crack at the emotional seams. The Satan said to Hashem (see Job, chapter 2), “A person will give anything for his own skin. Afflict his flesh, and we’ll see if he continues to bless you!” The Satan claimed that no test of faith is as difficult as a sickness or injury. Job’s steadfast faith was shaken once his entire body was afflicted with infectious boils.

We therefore learn from the Book of Job that bodily afflictions are the most difficult type of tribulations for a person. The moment a person becomes ill, money and other amenities are no consolation. On the contrary, they heighten the person’s feeling of misery for he can’t enjoy them. What good is a big bank account, diamonds and jewels to a person with an ulcer, diabetes, and a cardiac condition whose diet is sorely limited and can’t even enjoy a meal? And what good is a healthy body if a person suffers from a tormented soul? That’s why “be healthy” – tihye ba’ri – is the most common blessing in the Hebrew language. Since one cares so much about one’s health, Hashem can readily arouse a person by way of his or her health.

Health is one of Hashem’s prime tools in arousing people for an additional reason: The body resembles the Torah. The body has 613 parts – 248 appendages and 365 tendons. Correspondingly, the Torah has 613 mitzvot – 248 positive (“do”) mitzvoth and 365 negative (“don’t do”) mitzvoth. Each of a person’s appendages corresponds to one of the positive mitzvoth, and each of his or her tendons corresponds to one of the negative mitzvoth. Therefore, when a person transgresses a particular mitzvah, Hashem arouses that person to teshuva by afflicting him in the particular appendage or tendon that corresponds to the blemished mitzvah. As such, a person can understand what he or she did wrong and correct it.

The holy Baal Shem Tov once visited a sick man on the verge of death. At the man’s bedside, the Baal Shem discussed his condition with the attending physician. The doctor said that there is no hope for the man to live more than a few hours, for his disease has destroyed all his tendons.

The Baal Shem Tov asked the physician to wait for a moment while he approached the sick person, who lay unconscious in bed. A minute or two later, the patient opened his eyes and asked for a sip of broth. Gradually, the color returned to his face. The physician couldn’t believe his own eyes. He said to the Baal Shem Tov, “I can’t believe what I’m seeing! This person’s entire body was finished – not a single tendon was intact. There was no way he could live. What did you do?”

The Baal Shem Tov replied, “You are correct. Not only that, you are truly an expert physician. You made no mistake – all the patient’s tendons were destroyed. This person repeatedly transgressed so many negative commandments that his tendons deteriorated. Only now, I spoke to his soul, and he agreed to atone for his sins. Once he committed himself to teshuva, his tendons regained their vitality.”

Look for the pity play: Is there any mannerism, any type of behavior, any use of language that can identify a sociopath? “The most reliable sign, the most universal behavior of unscrupulous people is not directed at our fearfulness; instead, it is perversely an appeal to our sympathy. The combination of consistently bad or inadequate behavior and frequent plays for your pity is the closest thing to a warning you’ll ever get that you are being manipulated by a sociopath.

How they operate:

The first step is for the sociopath charmer or con artist to determine your personality profile and identify your needs. He or she might zero in on your pride, your ego, your fears, your dreams, visions of riches, religious conviction, an illness, or your desire to get a special deal, or a combination of several traits. Whatever works best for the given situation?

The next step is to make himself or herself appear to be the only person on whom you can trust or rely on for the fulfillment of your wishes, friendship, and/or personal safety etc. Keep in mind that in order for the scam to work, the scam artist will gain your complete and unquestioning trust, and they are very, very skillful at doing this. They will even attempt to dictate your socialization with other people.

The final step is the move on your money or property or identity. The move may be so fast and skillful that your reaction time is delayed. To accomplish this, the scam artist will use whatever scheme needed to tap into your emotional catalog. They will make you think that should you take any counter action it will either make you look foolish and/or you will fear retribution from the scam artist. If the scam has gone on long enough, you have been brainwashed, quite literally, into believing the scam artist more than the authorities, yourself and those close to you.

Manipulation techniques

Since con artists look for ways to manipulate strengths and weaknesses they will either paint a picture of wealth and ease, or increase your darkest fears, or a combination of both. In order to do this, a con artist will play on your sympathies, instill in you a sense of security in dealing with him or her, and distract you from what is really going on using lies laced with enough truth to make the patter believable.

Their goal is to make you completely trust them. Once you realize that none of the promises are forthcoming as you expected and you begin to distance yourself from them, the con artist uses other tactics such as favors, cheap gifts etc. as a scheme that will make you feel obligated that you owe them something. If their expectations are not met, he or she will use either subtle sarcasm, or scare tactics or outright threats and hostility.

Other techniques that shameless sociopaths use to keep the rest of us in line are:

• Charm
• Risk-taking, and convincing others to do it with them
• Recognizing a person who is decent and trusting—the perfect target
• Sexual seduction
• Crocodile tears—especially when sociopaths are about to be confronted
• Righteous indignation—Plan B when sociopaths are about to be confronted
• Exploiting social and professional roles
• Gaslighting—making victims doubt their own perceptions
  The term “gaslighting” comes from a 1944 movie called Gaslight, in which a gold-digging husband marries a rich, innocent woman and tries to make her feel like she is going insane. Sociopaths are experts at it.

Winning is all: A sociopath has no conscience, no emotional attachment to others, and no ability to love. For a sociopath, “life is reduced to a contest, and other human beings seem to be nothing more than game pieces, to be moved about, used as shields or ejected.” So what does a sociopath want? A sociopath wants only to win.

Sociopathic Charmers . . .
- are often described as “the nicest person you could ever know,” but – in relationships they are very controlling, self-serving, and irresponsible.
- Seldom agree to therapy; they don’t see a problem with themselves so why should they change? If they go to therapy, they try to charm the therapist.
- look good on the outside, but an ulterior motive lurks on the inside
- see themselves as victims rather than those they hurt
- believe they are special and entitled to special behavior; rules that apply to others do not apply to them
- have their own brand of logic and an excuse for everything
- appear to be very giving, but there is always a price to pay for their attention
- can apologize easily, but there is no true repentance
- don’t feel love or guilt deeply, tend to minimize the pain of those they have hurt
- discredit their accusers when they are confronted
- cope by making themselves the hero in the worst situations
- are very clever, and often able to keep from being caught
- have extreme shifts in personality, may be kind and sarcastic in the same instant
- are very needy, and blame others for not being able to meet their needs
- appear to be very sensitive to others, and use their sense of humor to make others laugh or feel good
- shift attention off themselves onto others to keep from being found out
- depend on lies and deception to maintain a good image
- need power and control to bolster their low self-esteem and very fragile ego
- have a distorted sense of shame, and feel no embarrassment in – doing whatever is necessary to get their needs satisfied
- are narcissistic, and need to believe they are superior to others
- are intimidated by intelligent, perceptive women
- live in constant fear of discovery
- find and use those who will appreciate and adore them
rationalize their behavior with no remorse for the pain they cause
- are one frustration away from violence
- will not change as long as life works for them and there are no consequences to face
- are the center of their world and need constant praise and adoration from others
- know how to win the confidence of others, and use personal information against them later to make themselves feel better or superior
- view their own thoughts and words as ultimate truth
- use kindness as a smoke screen to solicit silence or lack of confrontation of their actions
- are master manipulators who zero in on others’ point of weakness
- lay heavy guilt trips on anyone who confronts their bad behavior
- twist the truth, lie, distract, accuse and use irrational and irrelevant arguments if confronted
- lack healthy shame
- mess with your mind to make themselves look normal—twist, distort, and tarnish your reputation
- know how to play the courtroom game and come across more credible than their victims

Sociopathic Con Artists . . .
- are motivated by greed for material gain
- choose those to whom they show genuine love and affection, with -the capability of killing a stranger or enemy without regret
- have a selective conscience with their own code of ethics
- know right from wrong, but choose to do wrong to get what they want
- seek trusting or naive people to con
- often back off or move on to con someone else when they don’t get what they want
- will resort to violence when they cannot escape
- make the conscious choice to do evil
- don’t mind hurting others as long as they get what they want

Summary of the sociopath charmer and con artist: A healthy person seeks to be good. A Charmer seeks to be perceived as good because he desperately needs to believe he is good, because he fears he isn’t. A con artist seeks to be perceived as good in order to get what he wants. Both are sociopaths.

This warning should be taken seriously: The con artist can rob you of your time, energy and money. The Charmer can rob you of your time, your energy, your money, your youth, your integrity, your self-esteem, your very soul. The con artist robs and leaves you sadder but wiser. The Charmer rapes your spirit and drags you with him or her into his or her own personal hell.

Compulsions and Addictions – The Fuel for Fraud

Most thefts, which include cons, are perpetrated out of desperation for money. Most people have jobs and earn their money honestly. But sometimes even people with good jobs become desperate for money and will steal from you to obtain it. Generally, their desperation is borne of compulsions that are in control of their lives – food, gambling, drugs, the need to impress others etc.

A friend or employee will turn on you in a heartbeat when their master comes calling. Whether it is the loan shark, credit card debt, gambling, their drug dealer, compulsive overeating, or just a depression that needs “medication,” you can be sure they will go to the quickest and easiest source of income to meet these needs. Nothing will stop them from committing it. And what difference does it make to you whether they feel guilty or not. Your money or property is long gone – and more than likely, so is your former friend or employee. Never trust your money with anyone who has a compulsion that needs constant refueling.

Unfortunately, the only real protection against a sociopath or con artist is to become a hard-nosed, self-centered, suspicious, ungenerous, uncaring individual who never does anything for anyone that doesn’t balance out deed for deed. That way the playing field will be level – that is, reduced to the level of the sociopath or con artist whether it is a former friend or employee that thinks they can take you for a ride. Last but not least call them on their game, expose them and give them their walking papers!

Through the Divine master plan of the external universe and by our observance of the Laws of the Universe we integrate the outer universe with the personal universe that is inside us. Thus human beings, by elevating their souls to unite with the Divine realm also elevate all other entities in the cosmos. That is the essence of spiritual enlightenment. This is the key to finding the meaning of “Peace on Earth” – Genesis 12:3

Prophecy is bestowed only upon a very wise sage of a strong character, who is never overcome by his natural inclinations in any regard. Instead, with his mind, he overcomes his natural inclinations at all times. He must [also] possess a broad and correct perspective. A person who is full of all these qualities and is physically sound [is fit for prophecy].

When he enters the Pardes [the realm of spiritual knowledge] and is drawn into these great and sublime concepts, if he possesses a correct perspective to comprehend and grasp [them], he will become holy. He will advance and separate himself from the masses who proceed in the darkness of the time. He must continue and diligently train himself not to have any thoughts whatsoever about fruitless things or the vanities and intrigues of the times.

Instead, his mind should constantly be directed upward, bound beneath [G-d's] throne [of Glory, striving] to comprehend the holy and pure forms and gazing at the wisdom of the Holy One, blessed be He, in its entirety, [in its manifold manifestations] from the most elevated [spiritual] form until the navel of the earth, appreciating His greatness from them.

When the spirit rests upon him, his soul becomes intermingled with the angels called “ishim”, and he will be transformed into a different person and will understand with a knowledge different from what it was previously. He will rise above the level of other wise men, as the prophet, Samuel told Saul: “[The spirit of G-d will descend upon you] and you shall prophecy with them. And you will be transformed into a different person.” (Samuel I 10:6)

There are a number of levels among the prophets. Just as with regard to wisdom, one sage is greater than his colleague, so, too, with regard to prophecy, one prophet is greater than another. They all, [however share certain commonalities].

They receive prophetic visions only in a visionary dream or during the day after slumber has overtaken them, as the verse states: “I make Myself known to him in a vision. I speak to him in a dream.” (Num. 12:6)

When any of them prophecy, their limbs tremble, their physical powers become weak, they lose control of their senses, and thus, their minds are free to comprehend what they see, as the verse states concerning Abraham: “And a great, dark dread fell over him.” (Gen. 15:12)

Similarly, Daniel states: “My appearance was horribly changed and I retained no strength.” (Daniel 10:8)

When a prophet is informed of a message in a vision, it is granted to him in metaphoric imagery. Immediately, the interpretation of the imagery is imprinted upon his heart, and he knows its meaning.

For example, the ladder with the angels ascending and descending envisioned by the patriarch Jacob was an allegory for the empires and their subjugation [of his descendants]. Similarly, the creatures Ezekiel saw, the boiling pot and the rod from an almond tree envisioned by Jeremiah, the scroll Ezekiel saw, and the measure seen by Zechariah [were all metaphoric images].

Similarly, some of the prophets would relate the allegory and its explanation. Others would relate only the explanation. At times, they would relate only the imagery without explaining it, as can be seen in some of the prophecies of Ezekiel and Zechariah.

All of the prophecies come in the form of metaphoric imagery and allegories.

4. All the prophets do not prophecy whenever they desire. Instead, they must concentrate their attention [upon spiritual concepts] and seclude themselves, [waiting] in a happy, joyous mood, because prophecy cannot rest upon a person when he is sad or languid, but only when he is happy.

Therefore, the prophets’ disciples would always have a harp, drum, flute, and lyre [before them when] they were seeking prophecy. This is what is meant by the expression [I Samuel 10:5]: “They were prophesying” – i.e. following the path of prophecy until they would actually prophecy – as one might say, “So and so aspires to greatness.”

Those who aspire to prophecy are called “the disciples of the prophets.” Even though they concentrate their attention, it is possible that the Divine Presence will rest upon them, and it is possible that it will not rest upon them.

6) All the statements made above describe the path of prophecy of all the early and later prophets, with the exception of Moses, our teacher, the master of all the prophets.

What is the difference between Moses’ prophecy and that of all the other prophets? [Divine insight is bestowed upon] all the [other] prophets in a dream or vision. Moses, our teacher, would prophecy while standing awake, as states: “When Moses came into the Tent of Meeting to speak to Him, he heard the Voice speaking to him.” (Num. 7:89)

[Divine insight is bestowed upon] all the [other] prophets through the medium of an angel.

Therefore, they perceive only metaphoric imagery and allegories [which reflect the nature of that particular angel]. Moses, our teacher, [would prophecy] without the medium of an angel, as the verses state: “Mouth to mouth I speak to him” (Num. 12:8), “And G-d spoke to Moses face to face” (Ex. 33:11) and “He gazed upon the image of G-d” (Num. 12:8) – i.e. there was no metaphor. Rather, he would perceive the matter in its fullness, without metaphor or allegory. The Torah testifies concerning him “[I speak to him…] manifestly, without allegory” (Num. 12:8), meaning his appreciation of prophecy would not be through metaphor, but through open revelation, appreciating the matter in its fullness.

All the [other] prophets are overawed, terrified, and confounded [by the revelations they experience], but Moses, our teacher, would not [respond in this manner], as the Torah relates: “[G-d spoke to Moses…] as a man speaks to a friend” (Ex. 33:11) – i.e. just as a person will not be awe-struck from hearing his friend’s words, so, too, Moses’ mental power was sufficient to comprehend the words of prophecy while he was standing in a composed state.

All the [other] prophets cannot prophecy whenever they desire. Moses, our teacher, was different. Whenever he desired, the divine spirit would envelop him, and prophecy would rest upon him. He did not have to concentrate his attention to prepare himself [for prophecy], because his [mind] was always concentrated, prepared, and ready [to appreciate spiritual truth] as the angels [are]. Therefore, he would prophecy at all times, as the verse states: “Stand and hear what G-d will command you.” (Num. 9:8)

He was promised this by G-d, as [implied by]: “Go and tell them ‘Return to your tents,’ but you stand here together with Me” [Deut. 5:27-28]. This should be interpreted to mean that when prophecy departs from all the [other] prophets, they return to their “tents” – i.e. the needs of the body, like other people. Therefore, they do not separate themselves from their wives. Moses, our teacher, never returned to his original “tent”. Therefore, he separated himself from women and everything of that nature forever. He bound his mind to the Eternal Rock. [Accordingly,] the glory never left him forever. The flesh of his countenance shone, [for] he became holy like the angels.

7) There is the possibility that a prophet will experience prophecy for his own sake alone – i.e. to broaden his perspective and to increase his knowledge – [allowing him] to know more about the lofty concepts than he knew before.

It is also possible that he will be sent to one of the nations of the world, or to the inhabitants of a particular city or kingdom, to prepare them and to inform them what they should do or to prevent them [from continuing] the evil which they are doing.

When he is sent [on such a mission], he is given a sign or a wonder [to perform], so that the people will know that G-d has truly sent him. Not everyone who performs signs or wonders should be accepted as a prophet: only a person who is known to be fit for prophecy beforehand; i.e. his wisdom and his [good] deeds surpass those of all his contemporaries. If he follows the paths of prophecy in holiness, separating himself from worldly matters, and afterwards performs a sign or wonder and states that he was sent by G-d, it is a mitzvah to listen to him, as the verse states: “Listen to him” (Deut. 18:15).

It is possible that a person will perform a sign or wonder even though he is not a prophet – rather, the wonder will have [another cause] behind it. [This is because signs and wonders and even divining the future can be performed by sorcery and the like, as explained in [Ch. 8-10]. It is, nevertheless, a mitzvah to listen to him. Since he is a wise man of stature and fit for prophecy, we accept [his prophecy as true].

This is the nature of [the Torah's] commandment. [To give an example of a parallel:] We are commanded to render a [legal] judgment based on the testimony of two witnesses. Even though they may testify falsely, since we know them to be acceptable [as witnesses], we presume that they [are telling the truth].

Considering these matters and the like, the Torah states: “The hidden matters are for G-d, our Lord, but what is revealed is for us and our children” (Deut. 29:28), and “Man sees what is revealed to the eyes, but G-d sees into the heart” (Samuel I 16:7).